ORIGIN

Nicely Modified 1978 Ford Fiesta

The seller of this 1978 Ford Fiesta calls it a rally tribute, and has sourced quality flares and the front spoiler from the UK. He likes it even better with the bumpers removed, and it is nice to see someone putting a little effort into these cool cars. Find it here on Craigslist in Sherman Oaks, California for $9k.

47 Comments

Those were the Showroom Stock Sedan car to race in their day, I believe. I drove my friend’s ITC Fiesta years ago. It was fun. The Kent motor is simple, and reliable. The 135 hp Ivy in my Cortina has about 40000 street and autocross miles on it.

Back @ grumpy old man: I did not say the GTi was available in the US at that time. Just that was when they became available, period. Neither were Fiestas sold in the US for their entire product life span. Just because this car’s current home is within a couple of miles of my mom’s home, doesn’t mean I see that as the only area where this 4 sale is being seen. This “forum” has a broader reach than just the San Fernando Valley or even the US. Back @ Ol Teacher: You may have been referring to the engines, but did not specify so. There is a great deal more to a car than just the engine. But then the Chevy Small Block was 4 years older than the Kent and I still don’t run across criticism of it for being outdated. It continued in production far beyond this 1978 Fiesta. I too am fairly familiar with the Kent engine having been an SCCA Tech Inspector who did teardowns when Formula Ford began until 1975 when it had already reached (or passed) its zenith. I agree that Panasports, flares and bent tubing do not make a rally car. But the ad does NOT state that this IS a rally car, does it? It really looks more wannabe road racer than wannabe rally anyway. My 85 Civic S had pretty substantial torque steer as well. I learned to deal with it and it was far less disconcerting than its shortage of braking ability. My 94 Civic DX had vastly better brakes. And a 94 Si or EX had much better brakes still. Things get developed. The 78 Fiesta COULD have gotten a Lotus-Ford Twin Cam, but didn’t that isn’t the market they were pursuing at the time with that car. It was NEVER in direct market competition with the GTi or CRX (and were you referring to a CRX with a 1300? Or an HF with the DOHC 4-valve 1500?). So maybe we should criticize the GTi and CRX for not having been as refined as say a 1989 Porsche 911 SC? Even the base model Rabbit was a lot more expensive than the Fiesta. If you intend to compare apples to apples, the Civic you refer to SHOULD have been the 78 Civic (a VASTLY different car than an 84+ CRX) or maybe more appropriately, the Honda 600 hatchback. Or maybe even more market direct, a Chevette!

@ dusty- In terms of refinement, I was referring mainly to the engine, which in the case of the Fiesta was an OHV 4 introduced in 1959 (the English “Kent” motor). In 1500/1600cc forms, it came to the US in the Cortina (Mk1/Mk2), Capri (Mk1), Pinto, and lastly in the Fiesta. For many years I raced Formula Ford, where this motor is the required power plant. I’ve driven all three cars I compared in my post above (the GTI and CRX in pro solo) and IMHO, out of the box the GTI and CRX had much more tractible, freer breathing, and higher revving engines. Not to mention more advanced suspension geometry. My fondest memory of the Fiesta was torque steer. Not that the fiesta was a bad car, it was that it was eclipsed quickly.

Also, as noted by others above- flares, panasports, and bent tubing do not a rally car make- this car is kind of a “characture” of what the real thing should look like.

“Any questions please call 8l8-3l0-l866,absolutly no text messages,im not 16.” I would give him an extra grand for that one on principal alone (for a total of $5k O.T.D. though) He’s right, pick up the phone if you’re real, who’s got the time for text dreamer/ grinders.

It certainly looks good at first glance; but mostly show and little go. The flares look a bit sloppy to me. Interior could use a bit of easy work that would spiff it up a lot. A bit of a lackadaisical effort over all. More chaff than wheat.

I actually really like this car and the way it was done. However the price is about 2x what I think it’s worth. As beaters, they are typically $800, nice drivers $1500.. It’s hard to find $7500 in upgrades here.

Regarding the GTI/CRX “more refined in 5 years comment…The GTi was introduced in 1979. The CRX in 1984. So +1 and +6 years. The Golf/Rabbit was substantially more expensive than the Fiesta. Much of the “more refined” is in the interior plushness. Most of which goes out the door anyway when a car is built for sport as this Fiesta is, which dramatically equalizes that factor.

Here’s a decent Focus with current rally logbook. Drive onto your trailer, unload at a rally, drive like a hooligan, go like hell, try not to hit stuff. You start out $1000 or more ahead vs the Fiesta tribute car, which would pay entry fee and put gas in the tow rig!

these are great cars, and have lots of potential. But this one, it’s a backyard boy racer, and not very well done. Be very wary of the smog situation if you plan to keep it in CA. Maybe a good starting point at a third of the asking price.

I had one as my first car and though this is priced a high for no engine mods the body looks great. I know for a fact the Zetec fits in their with or without turbo and this car weighs next to nothing. Back in the day I sourced alot of parts from a company called BAT their still around and I also had a good friend in England that used to send alot parts as well.

It’s cool. I like it. Yeah…you can get things past smog if you know the “right” guy. Won’t be able to for long. When I bought a Civic last year, the seller, who is a mechanic, wanted me to take it down the block for smog (which by California smog law the seller is responsible for). I thought it was fishy and took it somewhere else. It failed. Then a week and a 1/2 later, I read that the smog shop down the block was on a list of smog shops which had been checked by DMV in a sting operation and had been shut down. The article said that DMV would be contacting customers of that shop from the last few months to get re-tested by a DMV “Referee”. I see the photo that Jethrine says the stance looks low in the rear. It’s the best “stance” photo in the CL ad. It’s the right front 1/4 shot. I have issues with the current trend for “artsy” photos in ads for cars. When you’re trying to sell a car, the 1st thing you need to show is an overall view of the car. Then you can zoom in and get detailed. I DO see the issue re roll bar (it is NOT a “cage”) mounting. The top of the rear wheel well is a rather strong point for mounting it. Just welding the end of the bar to the sheet metal ain’t gonna cut it though. It should have 3/16″ (5mm) plates at the end of the bars with doubler plates underneath and 3/8″ grade 5+ -10mm grade 8.8+ or better bolts. The B-pillar mounts are thus suspect as well.

In CL and eBay ads, it is common for license plates to be covered, removed or photoshopped out to reduce risk from stalkers, thieves and scammers. Putting your license plate number online is considered similar to putting other personal ID on the net.

for $9k you can pick up a well built Focus that’s stage rally prepped (modern cage, current race seats/belts, gravel spec suspension/wheels/tires) and will actually pass tech. the $$$ you’d have to spend to finish this Fiesta’s rally prep would pay for several events.

@Rallyman: There are plenty of “smog shops” in L.A. area that will pass anything if you pay a little more. In 2 years when its time to test again, the buyer will either have to find/replace all the missing equipment/find that special smog mechanic/move it out of Cali. There’s still something fishy: If tags are paid & it has Smog Cert-why no plates? (the 90 days refers to the time allowed to transfer title to new owner/over 90 days & it has to be ‘smogged’ again) These are fun cars-when they were new I rented one from(Alamo?) and thrashed it thoroughly for a weekend

The Fiesta looked at it’s older brother the Escort mkll and said ‘I could do that’.

I like it, but I’d probably bring the suspension up an inch. Looks a bit slammed for a rally car. I think $9k is probably reasonable for the UK but not for Sweden. Don’t know about Fiesta prices in USA.

Everybody keeps talking about the smog check…. CL ad says “clean title with recent smog check,valid for 90 days.Tags are paid for.” So do we think he is lying or are we saying he got it smogged but no one else will be able to?

That aside, even though its a front driver, I like it a lot and wouldn’t mind having it.. As long as its got a current smog I’d never have to smog it again where I live! Bring it on!

This car will fail smog based on visual inspection alone. Missing air pump and a header are enough to fail. $9k is highly optimistic. This car is neither here nor there. For $9k there are much better options available on the market.

My first car was a 80 Fiesta. I bought it from a BMW mechanic for only $750 and let me tell you that was the best money I have EVER paid for a car since. It’s 1600 Kent motor was soooo much fun aside from the crazy torque steer.

We had the discussions about how neat Fiestas are on the last post, so I won’t go into it again. However, I love the look of this car, and dont doubt he has 9 in it, but he aint gonna get it out of it imho. Would love to have it, and would go take a shot at it were it closer. Someone is gonna get a very cool, fun little car.

None of the pics are far enough away or the correct angle to show the stance. Sits sort of odd/low in back? I like Fiestas a lot. Too bad Ford replaced it with the ugly/awful Escort in USA just when the hot hatch was starting to catch on. Most Fiestas were bought as replacements for mom’s Country Squire wagon when the nest was getting empty.

There was a white Fiesta around town in mid 80s that had panasports. It had a 5″ wide black rocker stripe that tapered down to a point at the wheel openings. The stripe mimicked the shadow projected by flares. That car looked great. This guy needs to spend about 5k in the Ford racing catalog on engine stuff to be a 9k car. Don’t know if Ford still offers the 1600 goodies but there used to be a lot.

Nice looking car – but for $9,000,I’d expect the engine compartment to be detailed as well. The air pump is missing,& the holes are capped off on the head – no way to legally smog in California. Also,there’s a temporary permit (Red) in the rear window,plus no license plates – why not?

Wow. 9k brings it into Series 1 Cortina territory (same basic motor). Can’t see how it got smogged w/headers and the carb, though. The race shop I worked at had one as a parts chaser. It was pre-GTI, but the first gen GTI (and CRX) were much more refined, and they came only 5 years later….

My best friend in high school (in the mid ’80s) bought one of these as a winter car to keep his ’67 Mustang off the salty roads. Laugh if you will, but that car was a heck of a lot of fun to drive. A sort of GTI before there was a GTI. At least in the sense that it was German and a hot hatch. Brings back some great memories.